Eric Garner's mother slams de Blasio for handling of son's death: 'Dropped the ball on us'

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The mother of Eric Garner slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in an interview Wednesday, saying he "dropped the ball" on the handling of her son's death while in police custody.

Reacting to the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, activist Gwen Carr said the verdict showed a positive trend in terms of bad actors in law enforcement being held accountable.

"This verdict actually seems like we are pivoting into the right direction. Like with my son's death, we did not have this type of cooperation from the police department, from the mayor, and we've seen on camera, just as we did with George Floyd, that my son was actually being murdered on video," she said on CNN.

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De Blasio did not respond adequately, Carr said, noting one of the officers involved in Garner's death was put on desk duty. Garner was killed in 2014 when Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for illegal cigarette sales. He repeatedly said, "I can't breathe," before losing consciousness and later dying at the hospital.

Pantaleo was fired in 2019, but that was no thanks to de Blasio, Carr said.

"Just dropped the ball on us," Carr said. "If not for me and other groups pushing to have the departmental trial, it would have been all just swept under the rug, but I was not letting that happen."

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During his failed bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, de Blasio pledged Garner's family would receive justice, angering police officers, who said his rhetoric against law enforcement had "frozen" the department.

"I know the Garner family," de Blasio said at a 2019 debate in Detroit. "They’ve gone through extraordinary pain. They are waiting for justice and are going to get justice. There’s finally going to be justice."

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During his rocky two terms in office, de Blasio has frequently clashed with police, while often unsuccessfully trying to satisfy his left flank.